Cinnamon rose

Photo: Wikimedia Commons — Public domain · source

Survives zone 2 through 7

Harvest calendar

Best planted in early spring after your last frost, or in fall before the ground freezes, depending on your climate.

One of the hardiest roses grown, reportedly to about -35°C — a genuinely northern species reaching deep into Scandinavia and Siberia. Named for cinnamon-scented bark rather than the fruit.

Hardiness

Zone 2–7

Habit

Shrub

Edible part

Fruit, Flower, Shoot

Ripens

Sept–Oct

Mature size

To about 2.7 m (9 ft)

Light

Full sun

Soil pH

5.5–7.0 (mildly acid to neutral)

Environment

Boreal to temperate

Native range

Northern Europe (Scandinavia, central Europe) east through western and eastern Siberia.

Status

Wild

Years to fruit

2–3 yrs

Growth speed

Moderate

Spacing

150 cm (59 in) apart — about 2.3 m² (24 sq ft) per plant

Leaf shape

Pinnate with five to seven small dull green leaflets, greyish and downy beneath; straight paired prickles at the leaf bases.

Root system

Deep and strongly suckering, throwing new shoots from spreading lateral roots — which is how wild roses build thickets, and worth knowing before siting one in a small bed. The suckers are also the easiest way to get another plant.

Fruit description

Red-orange hips, about 15 mm, thin flesh around numerous seeds, rich in vitamin C

Propagation

Seed (1–2 years to germinate), half-ripe cuttings in July, hardwood cuttings in early autumn, division of suckers, or layering (about 12 months).

Pollination

Hermaphrodite, self-fertile, insect-pollinated.

The edible parts listed above are a starting point, not a field guide. Identify a plant with certainty — ideally against a local authority — before eating any part of it, and read the full disclaimer. Spotted something wrong? Report it.